Picnic Surprise
by Lord of Kavaka
Summary: Richard surprises Kahlan with a picnic on a day marked for lovers. Kahlan then surprises Richard. For ForeverRK and the members of BOTS and JAMA. This is a tag/add-on to ForeverRK's "Valentine's Day Surprise"
1. Chapter 1

**TITLE**: Picnic Surprise  
><strong>AUTHOR<strong>: Lord of Kavaka  
><strong>CHARACTERS<strong>: Richard/Kahlan  
><strong>RATING<strong>: NC-17  
><strong>TIMELINE<strong>: Sometime during Season 2  
><strong>STORY TYPE<strong>: Romance/Fantasy  
><strong>SPOILERS<strong>: Anything from Season 1 & 2, and the books.  
><strong>DISCLAIMER<strong>: I do not own them, and I make no profit.  
><strong>SUMMARY<strong>: Richard surprises Kahlan with a picnic on a day marked for lovers. Kahlan then surprises Richard.  
><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE<strong>: This story is for ForeverRK and anyone else (members of BOTS or JAMA) who have been traumatized and are in need of some happy R/K fluff after reading The Fanfic That Shall Not Be Named (yes, I just went with an HP reference… deal with it. LOL). Oh, and this is also a tag/add-on to ForeverRK's "Valentine's Day Surprise" one-shot.

**Picnic Surprise – Part 1**

Kahlan waited all morning and all afternoon for Richard, and he hadn't shown up yet. She was beginning to think he had backed out of his little Valentine's Day surprise. Perhaps she had allowed her fantasies about what today was going to be like to get carried away. Just as she was about to turn in early for the night, Richard came into view, walking through the trees wearing a soft smile on his face.

"Kahlan…," he called after her, giving her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry I took so long, but now I'm ready to show you something."

Kahlan almost forgot to breathe; she hadn't thought that Richard would really do something for her. She had expected that maybe he was going to give her flowers or some tasty confectionary, but from the look in his eyes, it was like he had spent the entire day preparing something just for her and her alone. He extended his hand, silently pleading with her to come with him.

"Yes, of course," Kahlan said after a deep breath. "Lead the way."

Richard grinned as Kahlan accepted his offered hand, and then led her back through the forest to the waterfall beyond. She gave his hand a soft squeeze when she saw the tumbling water, letting him know that she was right behind him. The smile on his lips as he glanced back at her confirmed that he knew. As they got closer to the cascading water, Kahlan was in awe and wonder at how breathtakingly beautiful the view was. Kahlan thought they were going to stop here, but then Richard kept leading her on, their hands still clasped together, his fingers slowly intertwining with hers.

A small blush worked its way onto her cheeks. Richard had never held her hand like this for so long, and the growing intimacy of the hold was making her heart flutter in all the right ways, almost rendering her lightheaded. They proceeded to climb up the rocks to a small cliff right on top of the waterfalls. The noise of the water crashing down over the edge was almost deafening, but the pounding of her heart seemed to pulse even louder through her ears.

When they finally came to a stop, Kahlan blinked, unable to believe the sight before her eyes. Candlelight flickered all around a small gathering of rocks that were scattered around before them. In the middle of the rocks was a blanket—her green blanket, no less—spread out with a basket full of strawberries and chocolate cake, which was one of Kahlan's favorite deserts. And another one of Kahlan's favorites was there as well… a large bowl of Richard's spice soup.

Kahlan was so focused on the assortment of foods that Richard had arranged that, as he seated her down, she had almost missed that there were dozens of white rose petals littering the ground, covering the green blanket and forming a circle around their private picnic. Finally noticing all that he had done, Kahlan was left speechless, not knowing what she could possibly say to thank him for going through the obvious trouble that he had… and all of it just for her. She just couldn't find her voice. It was like it had vanished. She had never been so astonished or humbled in all her life with the depths of obvious care that had been dedicated just for her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kahlan noticed that the edge of Richard's mouth had curved upward in a smile. His eyes were locked on her and she just knew he was memorizing her reaction.

"Do… do you like it?" Richard asked, sounding a little bit nervous, as if he was afraid he had gone overboard in his Valentine's Day surprise.

"Like it?" Kahlan breathed out, finally finding her voice. "Dear Spirits, Richard… I love it!" She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him so tightly he literally expelled all the air from his lungs.

Kahlan backed away, blushing brightly at how tightly she had hugged him. "Sorry," she squeaked out.

Richard smiled back at her and gently caressed her cheek, his eyes lighting up at her obvious blushing. "Never apologize for hugging me, Kahlan… _never_," he murmured out, before gripping her head by her jaw and holding her steady as he surprised her with a kiss.

An unexpected moan escaped her throat as she parted her lips, letting his tongue in. It always surprised her how she so quickly submitted to Richard, and how much she enjoyed his touches. And he always managed to catch her off guard when he did so. Of course, she was the first to back out of the kiss once it had gone far enough. She loved him dearly, yet she wasn't willing to risk confessing him.

He smiled at her and rubbed her cheek tenderly, his warm brown eyes growing heavy with love. Her breath caught at the sight, and she averted her eyes as her cheeks warmed with another bright blush. Richard leaned back and turned to pick up the bowl. He held it in his hands and swirled the spoon, before capturing some of the spice soup. Kahlan turned and watched him with a wisp of a smile on her face. He winked at her and held up the filled spoon. She obligingly opened her mouth.

Closing her lips around the spoon, and savoring the flavors and aroma of the spice soup, Kahlan he closed her eyes and hummed with contentment as the warmth flowed down her throat and into her stomach as she swallowed. "Delicious," she mumbled, opening her eyes up to look back up at him, licking her lips. She had no idea being fed by someone else, especially when that someone else was her Seeker, could be so… so sensual.

Richard grinned, and held up another spoonful. "Would you like some more, Mother Confessor?" he asked.

"Oh, yes… please," Kahlan quipped back, opening her mouth.

XXX

As they finished enjoying eating the spice soup, each taking turns feeding the other, Kahlan started to feel a warmth in her core she had never felt before. Richard leaned over and held up a strawberry, slowly tracing it over the lines of her lips before she parted them. She slowly sucked on the fruit before taking a delicate bite and swallowing. Richard smiled and brought the fruit to his lips and slowly sucked on the juices before taking a bite out of it himself, his eyes locked on hers the entire time. Kahlan's heart seemed to skip a beat as he did so.

Afterwards they nibbled on some of the cake, but truth be told, they were both quite full from the spice soup, it was, after all, a very hearty meal and quite filling. But the warmth Kahlan felt in the pit of her stomach had nothing to do with the soup. Her cheeks flushed as Richard set down the half-finished slice of cake, his free hand absently coming to rest on her thigh as he shifted back to her.

The most adorable self-satisfied smirk formed on his lips. "I told you that this would be a night you would never forget," he murmured.

"That it is, Richard," Kahlan nodded in agreement, but then a sudden unexpected thought struck her. Perhaps Richard was right… perhaps his love was strong enough to withstand her confessor's magic. He had been trying to convince her for weeks. And she could tell by the way he looked at her that he was already devoted to her. Spirits, sometimes that look he gave her was so eerily similar to the look she saw in the eyes and faces of the men she had confessed. Yet with Richard, that look, that expression, that gaze—whatever you wanted to call it—was not artificial or generated by magic. With Richard it was real and genuine.

Taking a deep breath, having made her decision and feeling more confident about it, Kahlan scooted closer to Richard. "However… you know what would make this night more special?" she asked, her voice low and sultry.

"Um… no, what?" Richard inquired, his cheeks noticeably flushing a bit at her sudden new proximity.

Kahlan moved closer to Richard, all the doubt in her mind vanishing as she looked into his warm brown eyes. They could do this. She didn't have to fear confessing him, because she knew, deep down, that his heart—his soul—already belonged to her, just like hers belonged to him. She placed her hands on either side of his face, and without warning, surprising him like he had always surprised her, Kahlan captured his lips in a heated passionate kiss that took his breath away.

Richard's hands immediately wrapped around her and she felt his fingers make their way into her long hair. She closed her eyes, losing herself in the sweet taste that was their love for one another. Kahlan moaned into his mouth as she felt his hands move around to the front of her white confessor's dress. She did not protest or object when his fingers began tugging at the laces.

She wanted this, wanted him; she had wanted this so badly and for so long. Kahlan was done with it… done with the waiting and the longing, the pretending that it was something that could be fought or buried. Tonight was going to be special. Tonight would be the night she finally relented and gave in to her desires, her wants, and her needs. Tonight she would open herself up to her Seeker… her one true love. Her Richard.

Tonight they would finally become one.

Letting out a gasp at the sudden rush of cool air upon her skin, Kahlan realized that Richard had removed her top and had already freed her chest from the tight constraints of her corset. Spirits, when the Seeker wanted something, nothing appeared to stand in his way. Her cheeks flushed and she looked up into his darkening eyes.

"Richard…?"

His movements paused and he looked down at her, hesitation flashing into his eyes. "Kahlan… are you sure about this?" he asked, his hand slowly rubbing her shoulder. The way his palm and fingers were rubbing and kneading her bare shoulders left tantalizing promises of the caresses to come if she relented.

Biting her lower lip, Kahlan nodded. "Yes," she murmured out, barely in a whisper.

Once she had given her consent that she was willing to do this, Richard smiled down at her and moved his hand off her shoulder. He ran his hand over her breast, cupping it in his palm as he touched her flesh for the first time. Kahlan shivered, and her spine tingled, as his fingers kneaded into her as he leaned forward to kiss her. His other hand drifted around her waist pulling her closer to him. Kahlan shifted her neck, giving him access as he peppered kisses down her jaw and along her slender neck. His mouth found her pulse point and he latched on, sucking on her supple flesh. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as a moan of pleasure escaped her lips.

He smirked against her neck, and shifted, moving his head to her breasts. His kisses were light, like butterflies dancing across her exposed skin. Kahlan arched her back and closed her eyes, relishing the feel of his lips upon her. A sudden gasp escaped her lips, and she moved her hands, tangling them in his messy hair. Gripping at the brown strands of his hair, Kahlan tugged him closer. His tongue flicked out and circled one of her nipples before his lips wrapped around it and he began to suckle, making her groan even more, pushing herself into him.

Holding him to her chest, Kahlan shook with feelings and sensations she had never felt before. Blinking, she encouraged him on, running her fingers through his hair and down his back, tickling his spine. He laughed into her chest, and his breath was moist and warm, which only seemed to excite her more. A pool of wetness was forming between her legs and Kahlan almost growled with animalistic need as she pushed him down onto his back and crawled over him, straddling his middle.

A surprised grunt escaped Richard's lips, but she soon silenced it as she bent over him, capturing his mouth in a searing kiss. Kahlan tugged the tails of his shirt out from under his trousers and worked her fingers down, unbuttoning the notches until she could run her hands along the hard planes of his chest. Richard groaned into her mouth as her fingers danced down his abdomen towards his hips.

She circled her finger around his navel, before moving past, shifting slightly in his lap as she gripped the buckle of his belt. Richard arched his neck up and watched as she unclasped his belt and slid it away, depositing the gleaming silver metal that was the Sword of Truth off to the side, next to the basket of chocolate confectionary. Leaning over him again, Kahlan captured his lips again, pouring everything she had into the kiss, ignoring the thrumming in her gut from her powers aching for release.

Long ago, when she was but a young confessor, blossoming into womanhood, an elder confessor had taken her aside and explained the mating process. Kahlan had been embarrassed and uncomfortable about hearing of such things, but, right at this moment, she vividly remembered the lecture. The senior confessor had told Kahlan that during the heights of physical pleasure, a confessor would lose control of her powers. Kahlan had not understood this. How could a confessor lose control of her powers? It seemed inconceivable to her.

Then the elder confessor explained that pleasure could dull the senses, and make you disoriented and blind to the world around you. Such things would cause lapses in concentration, resulting in the release of the confession powers, which a confessor always had to hold back with sheer will power alone. Kahlan had still been confused. So the elder confessor told her how to stimulate herself and reach physical release. The confessor told Kahlan that after she had done that, to then come back and they would finish their conversation.

So, Kahlan went back to her bedchambers with instructions. She was a little nervous and confused over how rubbing herself between her legs would cause her to lose control of her powers. But she did as she was told. She laid down on her bed, imagining a handsome man while hiking up her black skirts and sliding her hand underneath the waistband of her underthings. Her fingers sought out the nerve bundle the elder confessor had told her about.

She had gasped, loudly at that, when her fingers had first touched that sensitive place. And soon, she was moaning, imagining things she would blush if ever demanded to describe. Her cheeks flushed and her whole body warmed. She felt a strange warmth coalescing in her middle and then everything burst. Kahlan had felt her hold on her powers weaken and dissolve. It had happened exactly as the elder confessor had told her it would.

When she went back to finish the discussion, Kahlan was finally able to understand what the senior confessor had been trying to tell her: When she took a mate, and lay with him, she would feel that pleasure explode throughout her body, and her powers would let loose and consume the soul of the man she was with. When Kahlan told her instructor her thoughts about it, the elder confessor had nodded, telling Kahlan that this was the reason why confessors did not have lovers, but rather mates. No confessor would wish to take away the soul of a man they loved, making him a shell of the man he had been before.

Along that line of reasoning, it had also become the habit of confessors not to take good and honest men as mates. According to Kahlan's instructor, doing so would deprive the Midlands of noble men that were so very lacking. And that was the reason Kahlan had tried to deny and bury her feelings for Richard. He was a strong, noble, and brave man... one whom the Midlands desperately needed. Yet here Kahlan presently was, feeling that tenuous grip on her powers slipping, while straddling and ready to willingly give herself to a good and honest man that the whole world could not live without.

Kahlan had never intended for this to happen. She had never expected to develop these romantic feelings for Richard in the first place, and they were all so new and foreign to her. She had recognized other men as attractive, even some of those vile fiends that she had had to confess, who one day might even be chosen as a mate. But with Richard… oh Spirits, with Richard everything was different.

He was the light of her life. With him there always seemed to be hope, not just for a future where the Underworld was once again sealed off from the land of the living, but a world in which she—a confessor condemned to a loveless life with a confessed mate—could actually bask in the love and affection of a man who truly loved her without the aid of magic.

And now, thinking back on her instructions in sexuality, Kahlan found that the man she had pictured that night, so long ago when she had first pleasured herself, oddly resembled the man she was currently with… the love of her life. That realization added further reinforcement to her decision to give in and allow this to happen. Perhaps their love had been fated. Surely the good spirits would not bring them together to then deny them that which everyone else had?

Breaking away from the kiss for air, with all these thoughts swirling her in her head, Kahlan heaved in a deep breath. "Do you love me?" she asked, needing to hear the words to fortify her resolve, to give her even more incentive to submit to him—to Richard—like she had never submitted to anyone or anything in her life.

"With all my heart… and more," Richard replied, his voice soft and loving. His hands moved up from her arms and his fingers became entangled in her long raven black hair. "I'd go to the ends of the world and beyond for you, Kahlan. I'd risk everything—_everything_—simply to be with you, even if it is just for one moment." He swallowed, his warm brown eyes seeming to drink in her features. "I'd rather live a chaste life with you than have a whole harem of women at my beck and call."

She paused and her breath hitched up as her heart seemed to forget to beat for a moment. "You… you really mean that, don't you?" she asked, staring deep into his eyes, shamelessly using her powers to read him.

"Yes," was his singular reply, leaving no room for doubt or misunderstanding.

Kahlan smiled slowly, giving him that special smile that she saved for him and him alone. "I love you, too, Richard," she answered his declaration with her own.

His arms wrapped around her middle and he spun them around, pinning her into the blanket. She let out a soft giggle as the world spun around her, then shivered with anticipation as she felt the warmth that radiated from his exposed chest as he loomed over her. Kahlan smiled up at him as he leaned down and kissed her lips softly, bringing one hand up to hold her face as he did so. She arched her back, pressing her chest against his, earning a moan from his mouth.

Grinning, Richard leaned back, breaking their kiss and hurriedly removed himself of his shirt, tossing it absently to the side. Kahlan leaned up slightly off the blanket and reached down to his trousers, quickly working the laces. Richard sat up on his knees, giving her more room to work with, letting her undress him, as he had undressed her. Kahlan sat halfway up, but had trouble stabilizing herself. A smile touched her lips when Richard's hands dropped down to her shoulders to steady her.

Suddenly it dawned on her what she was doing. Her cheeks went bright pink and she had to catch her breath. Kahlan's hands began to tremble. She believed she knew what to expect, but she was unsure. She'd only caught glimpses of Richard as he bathed, as he had with her… she knew he watched her, even if he thought he was being stealthy. He probably suspected her of spying on him as well. Richard's hands began to massage her shoulders, and she remembered how exposed she was too him. Richard had seen her chest… touched her breasts… Spirits, he'd even kissed and sucked her flesh.

Swallowing hard, Kahlan finished the last of the strings lacing up the front of his trousers. Breathing in heavily, she tucked her fingers under the waistband and pulled down. Richard's arousal sprang forth in all it's glory, making her lose her breath and forgetting where she was. She was simply stunned. Suddenly, his hands were on her, easing her back down, as he completely removed himself of his trousers. Kahlan submitted to his guidance, lying back down on the blanket, feeling her cheeks warm, the image of his firm erect arousal flooding every corner of her mind.

Kahlan was vaguely aware of the fingers working their way around the fastenings around the lower half of her confessor's dress, her thoughts still firmly fixated on what she had seen spring to life before her eyes. It startled her that she aroused him to such… such a degree. A chill rippled over her legs and Kahlan blinked, coming back to herself. She arched her neck and looked down, seeing Richard free her of her dress. Unlike his shirt and trousers, he tenderly folded it up and placed it off to the side, making sure to keep it safe.

She smiled at the gesture. Kahlan had known that he would have willingly ripped the dress off her to get at what was underneath. But he understood the important of that white dress, not just to her, but also to the Midlands. As the last confessor, Kahlan was the only hope for the Midlands to have more. And now… now she was finally allowing herself to believe in the possibility that Richard would be the father of those future confessors.

Richard leaned down over her, his hands running up her now bare legs. Gooseflesh followed his fingertips, and she was unsure whether it was from the cold breeze or his gentle touch. A soft hum manifested itself in her lips as his hands moved further up her legs, to her thighs and then her hips. That's when she realized he had yet to remove her underthings. She gulped and looked up, gazing at his strong chest as he hovered over her. One hand left her hip and came up to her face.

He gently grabbed her jaw and directed her eyes to his. "Kahlan… are you absolutely sure about this?"

"Why… why do you ask?" Kahlan stammered out, growing worried. "Do… do you have doubts?"

"None," he declared, smiling down at her with a countenance of pure and utter love that simply made her heart melt, rendering all her fears mute. "I just wanted to make sure that you had no doubts or uncertainties, because…" he swallowed hard before continuing, "because once we do this, there is no going back. Once… once I… you'll never be the same. And… and I will never be able to let go… of you."

"Richard… what are you trying to tell me?" she asked.

"You know that I love you with all my being… all that I am?" he asked earnestly, bending down so that his face was inches from hers. She shivered, feeling his desire brush against her thigh.

"Yes, Richard… I know," Kahlan replied with a nod, her eyes watering with the depths of love she saw reflecting out of his eyes. "I feel the same. Words cannot begin to describe how I feel about you."

Richard's hand tightened around her face. "Be mine… forever."

"Yes," was her reply.

His lips were soft and tender against hers, and she felt his hand slide down her throat as he touched her chest again, kneading her breasts and teasing her nipples, making her grow warm and mushy all over. She trembled under his touch, not from fear or worry, but from pleasure. His touch felt so wonderful, beyond anything she had imagined. And if his hand on her breast felt like this, then what would he feel like once he was between her legs!

Backing out of the kiss, Richard rested his forehead against hers and smiled softly. "When this is all over, and the rifts are sealed and the Keeper defeated… will you be my wife?"

"Of course I'll be your wife, Richard," Kahlan smiled back up at him, feeling more joy in this moment than she had in her entire life. She raised her hands and rested them on his shoulders, loving the firmness and strong decisiveness of his muscles. "Nothing in this world would give me greater joy than to be your wife… except maybe giving you a child."

Richard smiled. "A beautiful daughter that looks just like her mother," he said.

"Oh, no, no… just like her father," Kahlan quipped back, beaming.

Richard shook his head, taking a slow breath. "No," he drawled out long and easy. "Not like me… or you… but like us. Both me… and you. Combined. In one form. That child… that child would be a breathtaking sight."

A tear manifested itself and rolled down Kahlan's cheek. "Oh yes, Richard… she would," Kahlan agreed in a breathy voice, feeling all tingling in her middle, as he leaned down to kiss her once more. She recognized the feeling strumming up through her chest and, without fear, she let go.


	2. Chapter 2

**Picnic Surprise – Part 2**

The air around them stilled and the world rocked with a thunder without sound. Her fingers dug into his shoulders and she felt him tense. Kahlan closed her eyes and felt her powers surge up through her core and grapple for a soul to consume and devour. She let out a cry of anguish, thinking she had taken away the very thing she loved most in this world.

Flirting her eyes open, her first thought was of Richard. She was worried that she had confessed him. And she was surprised at herself. They had yet to connect and she had already lost control of her powers. Blinking, she looked up at him, seeing him staring down at her with absolute devotion in his warm brown eyes. Oh spirits… she'd done it. She'd confessed the man she loved. She swallowed hard and averted her eyes, her entire body rocking with guilt.

Clenching her teeth, she forced herself to look back at him. She knew what she must do. But… just once… before she gave him back to the world, she would have him. Taking another hard swallow, Kahlan locked her eyes with the dark eyes of utter devotion and love. "Make love to me… then hand me my dagger, so that I may free you," she said, trying to hold back the horror in her voice at what she had done to him.

"No," Richard said, his voice steady and calm. "Though, I do like the command about making love to you."

"What?" she blinked. Had they been right? Had he been immune to what would happen should she release her powers?

"I'm not confessed, Kahlan," he asserted.

"How can I be sure?" she replied.

"Tell me to do something that I would never do in a million years," he said, smirking.

Kahlan's heart swelled with joy at seeing the smirk. A confessed man would never be so flippant with his confessor. However, despite that, she played along.

"Well, for a start, you can take your hand off my breast and never touch me ever again," she smiled, chuckling softly.

He paused for a moment, and made no move. There was a split second where Kahlan feared he would actually obey her command. But then the smirk returned to his lips and met his eyes.

"Never…," Richard grinned, and for emphasis he squeezed her breast just a little, causing her to squirm with joy. "I can never stop touching you, my confessor," he teased.

"Then don't," Kahlan replied, her eyes flickering down between them to where his other hand rested on her hip. She arched her neck back up to him, and leaned forward, whispering into his ear in a low and suggestive voice. "Do what no man has ever done before, Richard Cypher… and make free and willing love to a confessor."

"My pleasure, Kahlan Amnell," Richard winked, and kissed her cheek. He leaned back and Kahlan let her hands drop from his shoulders, allowing them to fall to her sides. She fisted her hands in the blankets and ran her lower lip under her teeth as she watched him kiss his way down her body. He paused at her breasts, giving each soft mound of flesh equal attention, before dropping further down.

He nuzzled his nose against her navel and peppered soft butterfly kisses against her waist, before hooking his fingers under the waistband of her small black shorts. Kahlan's breath had grown heavy by this juncture and her powers were already screaming to be released once again. It startled her how quickly she could lose control with Richard. Her confessor instructor had been wrong. With a man she loved, Kahlan had lost control long before she reached that plateau of physical release… long, long before. She had yet to feel him inside her and she had already tested the strength and fortitude of his love. A love that was more powerful than her magic.

"Yes," Kahlan breathed out, seeing that he was awaiting permission. She lifted her bottom off the ground and Richard tugged her underthings down her legs and tossed them over to join her white confessor's gown.

Now, completely exposed before the man she loved, Kahlan tingled with expectation. Richard sat back on his haunches and ran his hands along the creamy white skin of her toned legs. He bent down and kissed her thighs and rubbed his nose against the small black forest just below her hipbone. His fingers gripped her thighs and his warm brown eyes glanced up at her.

"Open for me, Kahlan," he murmured, his warm breath tickling the small hairs between her legs.

Kahlan let out a breathy sigh, releasing the tension she had not known she had had in her legs. With that tension gone, Richard easily guided her legs apart. She watched in rapt attention as he viewed her for the first time, silently praying to the good spirits that she met with his approval, after all, he most certainly had met with hers. Caressing her legs with his hands, Richard smiled and leaned forward.

Her brow furrowed, confused, and then a sudden moan, loud and throaty, escaped her lips as she felt him grab her with his mouth. Spirits, he was sucking on her special place, the place she had discovered as a youth and had learned about how to pleasure herself. After meeting Richard, she had oft touched herself in such a fashion while bathing, thinking of him. Spirits, she wondered if he had seen that as well!

Letting out a rippling groan of pleasure, Kahlan writhed under him, her hands fisting the blanket as she rolled her hips to the motions of his tongue when it came out and ran between her moist folds. She grew even wetter under his touch; his hands continued massaging her legs, but one had moved up to cup her breast, and he teased and tantalized her even further. Kahlan leaned her head back, her eyes rolling back, as she trembled and squirmed with delight. This was far better than what she could ever do to herself. Spirits, it was so overwhelming. Kahlan slipped and her powers released. So close after the first time, it caused her to black out.

Blinking, Kahlan slowly came back to her senses. It was no longer until she felt Richard's tongue on her again and she shivered. She swallowed and arched her neck. "Richard… did… did I…" spirits, how do you say it?

"Come? No, I don't think so," he furrowed his brow, looking up at her as he released her quivering flesh from his mouth. "Why?"

"Did you not feel my powers let loose?" she asked, gasping for air.

His brow creased even further and he blushed. "No… I was enjoying the taste of you so much, I guess I did not notice."

"The taste of me?" Kahlan knitted her eyebrows together, completely confused.

Richard grinned. "Yes…," he nodded. "You're delicious, by the way. I could simply devour you for days. But, I think you might want something more than that."

Kahlan was at a loss for his comments, but she pushed them to the back of her mind. With the new knowledge that he was immune from her confessor's touch, Kahlan was finally realizing that this would most definitely not be their first and only time together. After all, they would need to create more confessors… wouldn't they? She smirked, liking that excuse to be intimate with her Seeker.

While she was off in her own musings, her Seeker, Richard Cypher, had been slowly working his way up her body, kissing and feeling as he went. Kahlan let out a soft moan as his lips found a nipple, his tongue tantalizing and stimulating it to attention. Spirits, the things he could do with just his tongue. She would have to remember these things for later, and tell him what she liked most… oh, who was she kidding! She liked _everything_ he was doing to her. Her entire body seemed alive with feelings and sensations that she had never dreamt of in her wildest dreams.

Her breath was rapidly growing into quick gasps for air as Richard maneuvered his way up her body. Her chest heaved and she was almost sure that she might lose control again. She had never released her powers so rapidly back to back, and Kahlan was unsure what would happen if she lost control again. It normally took her an hour to fully recover from confession, but this experience was entirely new and foreign to her. She had no idea what to expect. But she knew this, whatever her instructor at the Confessor's Palace had tried to teach her about sexuality, it had not prepared her for this.

Perhaps it was partly because no confessor had ever truly loved a man like she loved Richard... at least, that's what Kahlan liked to think. It made her feel special, that she was somehow singled out as someone worthy of a love so profound that the deadly magic that pulsed through her very being was unable to touch or harm him. Whatever the reason for her fortune, Kahlan was overjoyed that fate had divined her to be the lucky one to be Richard's love.

His lips pressed against the fleshy top of her breasts, and soon his teeth were grazing against her collarbone. She arched herself into him, relishing the raw feel of his hard body over hers. A quivering quake ran up her spine as she once again felt his hard desire brush against her thigh, sending a burning blaze dancing through her insides, igniting in a vast explosion that coalesced and gathered in her middle.

She brought her hands up to grab his face as he moved over her, pulling him down for a kiss, as his hands grip her arms. His knee dropped down between her legs, and he guided them apart further, settling himself down. Kahlan gasped and moaned into his mouth, feeling the heat of his desire touch her between her legs.

Richard shifted and his hands dropped to her hips, steadying her. He pulled out of the kiss he had initiated and rested his forehead against hers. There was a brief pause and he sucked in some air as he closed his eyes. "Do you know what to expect?" he asked, his voice showing concern for her.

Kahlan gave a small nod. She had been told to expect some pain once her barrier was broken. "I'm ready," she told him, running her hands along his shoulders and chest. "Make me yours, Richard. Now… and forever."

He brought one hand up to hold her face, keeping the other by her hip. Diving his fingers into her long lush hair, he rammed his mouth against hers, shoving his tongue past her trembling lips as he slowly pushed up into her. Kahlan let out a soft grunt, and then moaned into his mouth, feeling his fullness fill her insides. It hurt a bit, and she could feel the raw soreness of her barrier being broken, but she ignored the pain. She had been taught how to blank out such things, and even this pain, though wonderful in thought, especially with the man who had given it to her, was still pain.

As he eased further into her, Kahlan squirmed under him, rolling her hips to help drive him deeper. He had yet to begin the thrusting motions the older confessor had told her that the mate would need to do to seed her. All her Richard did was push into her, continuing to stretch and fill her with all that was him. And then something happened, and all the feeling between her legs changed. It felt entirley different. His warmth and firmness created a kind of feeling she had never felt.

Blinking, Kahlan looked up at him, feeling his fingers touch her cheek, wiping away the tears she had been unaware she had shed at the breaking of her barrier.

"Are you alright?" he asked, worriedly.

"Yes… I… I'm fine," she stumbled out. "Very fine."

"I… I didn't hurt you, did I?" he inquired, the pain in his voice evident.

Kahlan swallowed and moved her hands to hold his face. She could lie and tell him she had felt no pain, but that would be wrong. She loved him with all that she was, and he deserved the truth. "A little… but it was a good kind of pain, Richard," she confessed. "It feels much better knowing that I experienced it with you and not some… some man I had to confessed and take as a mate."

He relaxed a bit and peppered her cheek with light butterfly kisses. She laughed airily and moved her hands to his shoulders, until finally looping her arms around his neck. "Are you done, or does my Seeker have more to show me?" she teased, encouraging him on.

Richard grinned. "Oh, I've just begun, my confessor," he replied, planting a quick kiss to her lips.

A long rocking moan escaped her lips as he moved back and began the thrusting motions Kahlan had been told about. Spirits, this felt nothing like she imagined it would. It… it felt much better! Richard's head dipped and he started kissing and sucking on her neck, his hands moving all over her, as if he couldn't get enough of her soft feminine form. He seemed to have an insatiable need to touch and feel every inch of her body.

And Kahlan felt the same need with him. She ran her hands along the strong muscled planes of his back and down his chest, basking in the sweaty heat of his movements over her. She felt his toned thighs and glorious backside, holding him for a while as she encouraged him to take her harder and faster. Eventually, she discovered it felt even better when she moved with him, and soon they were both thriving together. She would buck her hips up, as he would pound down into her. His name was ripped from her lungs as she screamed in sheer ecstasy.

"Oh, Richard… yes, yes, yes… YES!"

Underneath him, she writhed and churned like an inferno, giving her entire being and soul over to the music that they were making together. And the symphony that was being made was definitely a cooperative effort, because she pulled as many moans, groans, and grunts from him as he coaxed from her. The cold of the night vanished and only the heat of their fierce and passionate lovemaking remained as their bodies slammed into one another, ceasing to be separate and becoming one.

At some point, she didn't know when, Kahlan had felt a primal need to seize control. Though she had no qualms with submitting to Richard, in fact she quite enjoyed it, she wanted to show him that she could please him just as much as he could please her. So, gripping her legs around his middle, she used the ground as leverage and flipped him over, landing on top of him, her legs firmly clenched around him as she rammed her hands into his chest.

"My turn!" she grunted.

Kahlan moved her hips as she would when riding a horse, and new sensations pulsed through her body, as Richard moaned her name. His hands laid uselessly at his sides, before he brought them up. He wrapped one around her waist and gripped her bottom, squeezing her, eliciting a whimpering moan from her lips. His other hand stretched out over one of her breasts as he held it firmly as it bounced with her wild movements above him.

Using her knees for support, Kahlan continued to ride him, bucking her hips and grounding her fingers into his chest. She panted and grunted, whimpered and cried, never once feeling the tug of her powers. She wondered if she had expended them with her previous two losses of concentration and that the power simmering in her core was too weak and still in need to rest. But then, as the warmth seemed to increase tenfold in her middle, she felt the strum on the cords within and knew that her magic had just been holding back. This next release would be accompanied by an even greater release, one that Kahlan had longed to feel with Richard.

She slowed her movements, wanting to be under him when it happened. She wanted him to be the one to take her to that threshold. Richard arched his neck and they locked eyes. Kahlan conveyed her desire without speech and Richard nodded. His hand dropped from her breast and his arms wrapped around her waist as he rolled them over, placing her back on the blanket beneath him.

"Take me over the edge, my Richard," Kahlan managed to whimper as he kissed her throat. His hands caressed her legs and she opened even further for him.

Looping her arms around his neck, Kahlan kissed his shoulder and neck, digging her fingers into his tousled and messy hair. Spirits, how she loved his hair! Richard's lips danced up her neck and jaw, and he found her mouth, taking away the moan that desired to escape as he plunged down into her very depth, igniting the fire within as his own explosion erupted within her.

"Oh spirits… Richard… oh… yes… YES!" she cried out.

The surge that ripped through her was unlike anything Kahlan had ever felt before. It was altogether different than the release she had felt when she had first pleasured herself so long ago. And this was not just her confessor's power, but also that elusive physical plateau that she had been told she would have to help stimulate along. Richard had brought her to it, and she clutched onto him, screaming his name for all to hear. The spirits be damned! She wanted the entire world to know that it was Richard Cypher, the Seeker of Truth, that had taken her to heights she had only dreamt were possible in her imagination.

Richard's body tensed over her and his seed erupted deep inside her, filling her with a warmth she had not expected. Her orgasm, in conjuncture with the release of her powers, had been more powerful than either previous surges of magic, yet it had not dulled her awareness or caused her to black out. So she felt it all, everything that his and her body did in response to it: The tightening of her inner muscles around him and the squeezing as if she was milking him dry. She savored and relish every moment of it as their bodies melded together as they both basked in the blissful rapture of mutual gratification.

Wiggling slightly under him as Richard's weight seemed to collapse on her, Kahlan ran her hands down his sweaty back as she kissed and licked at his neck, tasting the unique flavor that was her Richard. She hummed against his shoulder and hugged on to him, loving the feel of being united with him in that most special and intimate of ways. Richard slowly eased up and kissed her slowly, gripping her face in his hands, before gently slipping out of her, causing her to groan in disappointment at the loss of connection with him.

He kissed her sweetly, resting down on the blanket next to her, as she curled up beside him, resting her head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her tingling body. And despite the chill in the air, Kahlan felt anything but cold. She was still feeling the lasting effects of the dual releases he had caused within her: The magical and the physical.

In this moment—and hopefully many more in the future—they were just normal lovers enjoying the presence and touch of the other. As they laid there beneath the moon and stars above, Kahlan smiled languidly and glanced up at her Richard, her one true love; the man who had loved her to such a profound intensity that he was spared the deadly grasp of her magic.

"Thank you, Richard," she murmured softly, running her hand absently in circles over his hard chest. "This truly was a night I'll never forget. I will treasure it in my heart forever. Thank you for giving me the most wonderful gift of loving me enough to overcome my powers and… and accepting me for… for me."

Richard smiled down at her and squeezed his arms tighter around her frame as he drew her closer to him. He bent down and kissed her forehead, causing her to beam with contentment. "Kahlan, there is nothing to thank me for," he spoke, his words earnest and sincere. "Don't you know by now that there is nothing in this world I wouldn't already do for you? I love you so much."

Kahlan gazed up at him with wonder. She had truly been blessed to have been given Richard's love. They locked eyes as she smiled up at him, giving him that special smile, the one she saved for him and him alone. "I love you too, Richard. More than you'll ever know."

They embraced one another and Kahlan shifted, stretching her body over his as she leaned forward and captured his lips in a passionate kiss that made him chuckle and moan in want. "Kahlan? What are you doing?" he asked as her hand flirted down past his navel.

A laugh rolled out of her throat as Kahlan skimmed her fingers along his tight abdomen before finding that which she sought. He let out a grunt and smirked up at her. She leaned over him, bringing her lips a breath's distance from his. "I'm instructing my lover to make love to me again," she answered. "Do you think he can handle that?"

"Oh, yes… I think _he_ can… very much," Richard nodded, wrapping his arms around her and flipping her onto her back as he captured her lips in a kiss that left Kahlan breathless.

Within moments they were exploring each other… all over again.

THE END


End file.
